Elections

The Wisconsin Elections Commission held a special meeting on Thursday after learning that 193 absentee ballots from the city of Madison were never counted in November’s election.

Of the uncounted absentee ballots, 125 were from Ward 56, 67 from Ward 65, and one from Ward 68.

‘That’s very, very disturbing.’

Elections Commission Chair Ann Jacobs (D) called the error “so egregious.” She questioned why it took more than six weeks to report the issue to commissioners.

“We are the final canvassers,” Jacobs said. “We are the final arbiters of votes in the state of Wisconsin, and we need to know why those ballots weren’t included anywhere.”

Personnel with the Madison Clerk’s Office reportedly first discovered some of the unprocessed ballots on November 12.

While city officials learned of the oversight a week after the November election, the news did not become public until mid-December.

The clerk’s office released a statement announcing it would contact the affected voters and issue an apology.

“Moving forward, every polling location will receive a list of absentee envelope seal numbers that will be verified as counted on Election Day. The goal of the Clerk’s Office is that each eligible voter will be able to cast a ballot and have that ballot counted. Falling short of this goal for the November 2024 Election, we sincerely apologize to our voters and will strive to make sure this never happens again,” the statement read.

The clerk’s office noted that the uncounted ballots would not have impacted the outcome of any of the races.

Madison Mayor Satya Rhodes-Conway (D) addressed the error in a separate statement, calling it “a significant departure from the high standard our residents expect.”

“Unfortunately, Clerk’s Office staff were apparently aware of the oversight for some time, and the Mayor’s Office was not notified of the unprocessed ballots until December 20,” she said.

Rhodes-Conway stated that the city would “conduct a thorough review.”

The commission typically opens investigations in response to complaints, and one has not yet been filed for the uncounted ballots. However, the commissioners voted unanimously this week to open an inquiry into the issue.

During Thursday’s commission meeting, Jacobs said, “Given the seriousness of what happened here, our lack of knowledge (and) information that was not given to us in a timely fashion, I think we need to do something more formal.”

Commissioner Don Millis (R) remarked, “My biggest concern is why it took a month and a half for this to come out.”

“That’s very, very disturbing,” he added.

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